


Not Alone

by Cate_9xBlue



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood and Injury, Character Death, Gen, Injured Lance (Voltron), I’m sorry, Langst, Not completely intentional self sacrifice, Sad Ending, Shiro basically adopted the other Paladins, Shiro has many regrets, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Voltron is a family, literally just angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23762986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cate_9xBlue/pseuds/Cate_9xBlue
Summary: As much as the other Paladins appreciated Keith’s willingness to take risks, they weren’t going to let him go alone. They all wanted Shiro back, too. He was family. And family didn’t get left behind.Rewrite of season six episode The Black Paladin where all of Voltron made it through the wormhole.
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Lance & Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 82





	Not Alone

* * *

When the wormhole appeared, Keith knew they needed to move fast. The spirits of his teammates were fading, and Shiro was getting farther away by the second. He couldn’t let him escape. Not with Lotor in his clutches, and not without getting some answers. There had to be a reason. Some dark magic or something. Shiro would _never_ turn his back on them. 

“We’re not going to make it!” Allura cried, and he realized she was right. Voltron was moving too slow, and the wormhole was closing much too fast. 

“We’re running out of power!” Pidge informed them, keeping a monitor on the depleting power core. “There’s not enough left to get us through!” In a pressing second’s decision, Keith yelled back. 

“Disband!” He met the furious rebuttal of the others. “It might give me enough thrust to propel me through!”

“No offense buddy, but this isn’t the time to be self-sacrificing!” Lance argued. “Who knows what you’ll find on the other side?”

“Lance is right,” Hunk agreed. “We can’t let you go alone!” Keith growled. 

“We don’t have time to think of another solution!” As he spoke, the wormhole grew smaller and smaller. There was no other solution. Either he went now, or Shiro was gone for who knows how long. Probably forever. “Guys, we-“ The entire robot groaned, cutting off his sentence. “What was that?” Allura grunted through the coms. 

“I’m giving us an added boost,” she explained, clearly trying her hardest not to break her concentration. “But I can’t hold it long. So _go!”_

“On it!” Pidge yelled, and suddenly the broken thrusters roared to life. Voltron shot like a comet through the wormhole, and just in time, as it closed and cut them off from Coran and the castle. 

But when the flash of light dissipated, they were once again thrown out of formation, breaking apart into their separate lions and nearly falling out of their seats from the force. The sight they were faced with was grim. Dozens of ships, if not hundreds, with cannons pointed directly at them. 

“Play defense!” Keith ordered, and four of the five lions flew in different directions. Blue stayed perfectly still. “Allura!” But no response came. 

“She’s unconscious!” Pidge yelled over the blasting. Keith surveyed the battlefield anxiously. She was completely exposed. Just a few hits and she could be…

“I got her!” Yellow flew in front of the other leg lion of Voltron, blocking enemy fire. “Yellow’s strong enough to take a good beating. I’ll be able to keep her out of harm’s way until she’s ready.” Keith smiled, grateful for the cook’s bravery and kindness. 

“Alright, Pidge and Lance, you help take out those cannons. I’ll try to spot Shiro.” He watched the other two lions fly past him, firing rapidly at the enemy ships. They did just as he asked, blocking him from the blasts of the larger war ships, and he took off after the ship he’d seen Shiro in. He skillfully dodged Lotor’s former generals, managing to tear into and dismantle Acxa’s blasters. He was so close to the ship, so close to Shiro-

And another ship fired at him from behind, knocking him off course. Keith huffed in annoyance, turning to disable this ship’s defenses as well. He’d never get anywhere if he didn’t get away from these ships. They just kept coming!

“How am I supposed to get to Shiro through all this?” He mumbled, frustration getting the best of him. Even after all of this, he still wasn’t great under pressure. Just as he was about to try regrouping and thinking of something else, he noticed the Altean pod out of the corner of his eye. He gasped. “Shiro!” He turned the Black Lion and bolted after his friend. Frantically pressing buttons on his dash, he patched through, only to be met with the emotionless face of his leader. He didn’t care to think of how the other Paladins could see it too. “Shiro, please. I don’t know what’s wrong, but you have to come back with us. We’ll figure this out, together!” But the man said nothing. Keith gritted his teeth, ready to yell if that was what he had to do, when he heard-

“Look out!” He heard the clashing of metal as Green rammed into the ship behind him, stopping a ship from blasting Keith while his back was turned. 

“Pidge!” Lance’s voice was static in the coms. 

“I’m okay!” She replied, and Keith felt a bit of worry leave him. “But I damaged my lion! My thrusters aren’t working right!”

“Lance, stay and help Pidge!” Keith ordered. “I’m going after Shiro.”

“What did we say about you going in alone?” He heard him respond gruffly. But Keith didn’t have time for his attitude. 

“Your lion is the only one that’s still functional enough to take out those ships. I need to go after Shiro. I can’t wait.”

“He’s not exactly Shiro right now, he could really hurt you!”

“I’m working on fixing my Lion as we speak,” Pidge argues, siding with Lance. “Besides, my blasters still work! I can help Hunk here!”

“No, Lance, stay here!” Before the Red Paladin could argue, he picked up speed, following after the pod. Lance seethed with anger. 

“Oh, no way does he think I’m letting him go in alone!” Pidge stayed behind as the Red Lion bolted after the Black, fending off whoever tried to follow them. 

Abruptly, the firing ceased. One by one, the ships began to jump into hyperspace. Pidge jumped, trying to repair her systems in time to follow them, but it was too late. The enemy ships were gone, just as quickly as they’d arrived. 

“Guys, did you see that?” Only static came through. “Damn, communication’s down.” Her lion powered down suddenly. “What?!” She peered through her visor, trying to at least catch sight of Lance or Keith. But both of them were long gone. She groaned. Green was down, Allura was down, and Hunk was back with her, unaware of what had happened. And now Red and Black were gone. This couldn’t be good. “It has to be a trap.” She got to work at repairing her lion, muttering to herself as she went. “I have to get to them before anything happens.”

Keith tailed the pod all the way to an asteroid. He found it parked in a crater, with footsteps trailing away from it, but Shiro was nowhere to be found. He landed Black a few meters away from the pod, and stepped out, following the tracks. They led underground. Keith listened for a moment, but, finding absolutely no sound, which was eerie in itself, he continued into the caves. At the end of the trail, he found a strangely Galra looking door. 

Just as he was about to open the door, he heard a rock fall behind him. He brandished his knife, which transformed into a sword, and pinned down his stalker. He sighed when he saw who it was. 

“Lance,” he said, irritated. “I told you to stay with Pidge.”

“And I told _you,”_ the boy countered, pushing him off and getting to his feet. “That I wouldn’t let you go after him alone.”

“I’m your leader,” Keith reminded him. “You’re supposed to listen to my orders.” Lance brushed him off. 

“Yeah, well not when they’re stupid. Besides, we all care about Shiro. I know you forget about that sometimes, but he means a lot to everybody.” Keith’s eyes held a tinge of hurt, but then it was gone. 

“You know, you can be _really_ annoying sometimes. And rude.” Lance practically chuckled. 

“Like I haven’t heard that before.” The two stepped toward the door. “So what’s in here? Some underground lair?”

“Guess we’re about to find out.” Keith opened the door. They braced themselves, but found that it was only an elevator. 

“Well that was anticlimactic.” Keith rolled his eyes, stepping inside, and Lance followed suit. The elevator automatically took them up. Purple lights flashed as they ascended higher, and higher. When the doors finally opened, they found a large walkway of some sort. The dark walls and dim lights laid a grim mood over them as they walked across. They came to a sudden halt at a large wall, lined with strange capsules that looked suspiciously like the healing pods back at the castle. They exchanged a glance, and then Keith pressed his hand to the panel closest to them. Both jumped back as a light flickered on from inside, and a man was visible through the glass. 

“It can’t be,” Lance muttered, stunned. Keith stared at the familiar face in the pod, eyes wide, and he nearly yelled when the other pods lit up, displaying the same sight. The two Paladins stared as they saw Shiro, over and over again. He was to their right. He was to their left. “How-?”

“What is this?” Keith whispered, horrified. The Shiro’s were all unconscious, but that didn’t make them any less intimidating. What could all of this mean?

“Hello Keith.” He whipped around, only to come face to face with a conscious Shiro. The same Shiro he’d been seeing around the castle for as long as he remembered. He felt Lance tense beside him, and when he chanced a glance, he saw that the boy’s face was gaunt with fear. Shiro hardly spared Lance any attention however, merely frowning at him for a moment before turning back to the new Black Paladin. Keith realized with a start that his eyes were glowing purple. 

“Shiro,” Keith said, as calmly as he could. Lance made some noise of protest beside him, but he ignored him. “Shiro, we’re here to help.”

“I know you are,” the man responded, but he didn’t really sound like a man. He sounded like a _robot._ A malicious, vile robot. But Keith couldn’t give up now. He wasn’t going to give up on Shiro. Not when he was right there, in front of him. 

“Keith,” Lance hissed, eyes glued to Shiro. Keith elected to ignore him. 

“Please, we just have to get back to the castle. We can help you.”

“ _We_ are not going anywhere.” Suddenly his role model was charging at him, purple eyes full of rage. Keith almost didn’t have time to respond, too shocked to even acknowledge the danger, but Lance’s voice snapped him out of it. 

“Gah!” Keith summoned his shield just as the man rammed into him, and Lance jumped out of the way, rolling onto his side. Keith got to his feet, dodging as Shiro’s arm lit up, smashing into the wall where he had been mere seconds ago. The lights in the pods flickered out, one by one. Keith dodged and weaved, managing to keep out of harm’s way until one of Shiro’s punches reached its mark, catapulting him off the side. “KEITH!” The Paladin used his jet pack to land on a lower surface, and watched as his companion lunged at Shiro, knocking them both off the edge and in his direction. He hardly had time to roll out of the way before they both smashed into the ground. 

Lance took a few seconds to get up, groaning with discomfort, but Shiro was up in an instant. He glared down at Keith, who had drawn his Marmora blade as a last resort. This seemed to bring him some twisted sort of glee. 

“You wanna play swords?” His deep voice drawled. Suddenly, a blade sprouted from the end of his Galra-tech arm. _I didn’t know he could do that._ Shiro practically sprang towards him, weapon at the ready. “Let’s play swords.”

“Ack!” Keith blocked his attack, feet slipping beneath him. He knew deep down that he couldn’t possibly win. Shiro was so much stronger than him. 

“Keith, watch out!” Keith dodged just as a bullet grazed Shiro’s arm, knocking him away momentarily. His sniper stood on the higher platform, bayard activated and extended in front of him. Shiro glared up at him, almost looking animalistic. 

“Lance,” Keith grunted, trying to ignore the ache that was building in his sword arm. “Stay out of this.”

“Yeah, Lance,” Shiro taunted. “Why don’t you just stay up there? That way you can’t do any more damage.” Lance’s confidence flickered, and Keith’s blood boiled. He wanted Lance out of the way, but not because he thought he’d get _in_ the way. It was because he didn’t want him to get hurt! 

“No, that’s not what I-“ Shiro took the opportunity, slamming into his side and sending him flying. Keith tumbled down the stairs, gravity slowing his descent just enough to cushion the pain somewhat, and he scrambled to get the rest of the way down. Once again, Shiro brought his blade down right where his head had been. If he was any slower, he could guarantee he wouldn’t have a head anymore. 

Fists and blades collided as Shiro backed him further away from Lance, landing blow after blow. He could see his friend rushing down the stairs in the corner of his eye, but then his vision was blurred by a particularly hard punch to the face. His helmet went flying, who knows where, and he fell backward again. But he didn’t have time to lay there, and once again flipped out of the way of a certainly deadly strike. If Lance didn’t get there in time… No, he didn’t need Lance’s help. Lance wasn’t even supposed to be there. If he’d _listened,_ he’d be back in Red, safe from whatever Shiro had become. He jumped, but he wasn’t quick enough, and Shiro jumped after him. They tumbled through the air together, and while Keith managed to activate his jet pack in time to stop himself, Shiro wasn’t so fortunate. 

The twisted version of their leader wasn’t prepared for Keith’s attack from behind, and it showed. He almost looked surprised, as Keith knocked him off yet another platform. Their blades clashed, over and over, and then Keith had him pinned, close enough to the edge that it would only take one push and he’d be _gone_ , and-

“That’s the Keith I remember.” Keith blinked, and suddenly some of the fight drained from him. What was he doing? He wanted to save Shiro, not kill him! That was the whole reason he’d come! Because this was a man worth saving! He backed off, eyes growing wide, at the thought of what he’d almost done. But his hesitance was exactly what his opponent had hoped for. He knocked the sword out of his grip and it went sliding across the smooth floors. Keith grabbed for it, but Shiro pinned him down. 

“Shiro!” He cried in vain, chest convulsing uncomfortably under the man’s weight. Shiro pressed his foot down, and Keith swore he felt something pop. “I know you’re in there! We don’t have to fight like this!” But he wasn’t listening. He had that blade dangerously close to his face, just so that Keith could feel the crackling energy within it. 

“This is hardly a fight!” He snapped. “Look at you! Your friends are gone, your family vanished. Everyone has abandoned you! And you’re certainly no threat on your own!” Keith cried out as the blade burned his skin, even though it was just barely grazing it. 

“Y-you’re wrong!”

“Face it, Keith! You depended too much on others, and now they’ve all left you behind! You’ll die here, and they’ll be none the wiser!” He could feel the fight leaving him. He could hardly breathe anymore. The burning sensation on his face was met with the cold fear in his heart. He couldn’t fail Shiro like this. 

“He’s not alone!” The heat was removed from Keith’s face, and so was the weight. He felt himself go limp, all his strength leaving him in one puff of air. He turned his head so he could see what was going on, but that was about as much as he could do. Lance was holding his Marmora blade. But he wasn’t Galra, so it wouldn’t work for him the way it worked for Keith. Meaning he was left with a knife, up against Shiro’s super-charged sword. His blaster certainly wasn’t any good in hand to hand combat, so he had no other choice. 

“What makes you think you count?” Shiro seethed. “You can hardly take care of yourself! And do you really think he considers you amongst his friends after all of the frustration you’ve caused? You’ve only ever been a nuisance to him!” Lance looked like he might agree, for a moment. But then he smiled, holding the knife out in front of him. 

“Yet he’s kept me around.” Shiro growled, surging forward. Lance blocked with his shield, keeping the knife at his side. It would do little in terms of blocking in its current form, and he was hoping to avoid using it for offense. Shiro brought hit after hit, but the shield never flickered. Lance backed up, keeping it right where it needed to be each time the blade got too close. “Shiro, listen! He still believes in you. He still believes you’re in there somewhere. So please, come back. For him. For _me_.”

“He is a fool. You know this by now. He’s deserted you before. Do you really think he’d be doing the same for you as you now are for him?” Lance grunted, biting his lip as he got nicked in the leg by Shiro’s sword. 

“I know he would,” he said confidently. “Just like I know you would. You’ve gotta snap out of this. We’re _all_ worried about you.” Shiro withdrew his blade, ramming into Lance and sending them both to the floor. The shield flickered away, and Lance was forced to hold him off with the knife. He held it out with the flat side, using it as leverage between them. “Please, Shiro. We need you back. There’s a gaping hole without you!”

“There will be a gaping hole when I’m through with you!” Again the blade appeared, and Lance turned the knife just in time to hold it off. 

“Listen to yourself! This isn’t you!” Lance landed a kick to his chest, sending him backward. He cast a glance at Keith, who was still lying a few feet away. He was curled up in a painful looking way, but his eyes were open. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to rejoin the fight. Lance turned back to Shiro, who was heaving. Perhaps the two of them together had been able to wear him out. “When I was younger, all I ever wanted was to be like you. You were my _hero._ And now? Now I want to be like you even more. You’re strong, and courageous, and you never give up. Please, Shiro, don’t give up.”

“You know nothing,” Shiro said in a low voice, the blade retracting as he fell to one knee. 

“I know you.” Lance approached him, the knife once again falling to his side. “I know how much you care. I know that, every time I cry because I miss my family, you tell me stories about yours. I know you have a soft spot for Keith because you practically adopted him when he was younger. I know that, even though you’ve only known them a few years, you’ve also basically adopted Hunk and Pidge. And yeah, it sucks that I might never see my family again, but y’know what would suck even more? Never seeing you again. Because _you’ve_ become my family. Just like the others.” Shiro had fallen silent, and Lance extended a hand. Keith watched with hopeful eyes, as Shiro’s hand came up, fingers brushing against Lance’s.

**_  
  
SHRKK!_ **

* * *

The first thing Shiro was aware of was heavy breathing. His eyes were open, but everything was dark. Then, just as suddenly as his consciousness had returned, the clouds lifted. His vision cleared, and he found Lance’s face directly in front of his. 

“Are you okay now?” Shiro frowned. 

“Y-yeah,” he stuttered, not remembering how he’d gotten there, or what had happened. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Lance’s face broke into a grin. 

“Good,” he said, his voice a little shaky. “Welcome back.” Shiro blinked. Were those tears on Lance’s face?

“Glad to be back?” He replied, chuckling with confusion. Had he been gone? The tears fell further down Lance’s cheeks, and he squeezed his eyes shut, but the smile never left. 

“I missed you, Space Dad.” That was when he noticed the blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. As panic built in his heart, he heard something, and his attention was drawn away. Pidge was running toward someone a few feet away. Keith, he realized. 

“Keith?” The boy was looking at him with horror, and some other emotion he couldn’t quite place. Relief? Grief? Some strange mix? Shiro tried to move, and that was when he realized he was already standing. And, when he moved, Lance grunted, and followed. Shiro finally looked down, and the sight he was greeted with terrified him. A bright, hot, purple blade was extending from the end of his fist, and protruding out of Lance’s back. He was run through with it. Lance seemed to notice it in his face, because his hands shakily raised up to his shoulders. 

“Hey, it’s fine,” he assured him, and his words sounded a little warbled. “It’s not your fault. It wasn’t you.”

“I-“ He heard Pidge’s scream. She had Keith standing, using her as support, and her eyes were glued to the sword sticking out of Lance. 

“I’m fine, Pidge!” He yelled, voice cracking. “It’s just a- just a scratch.” Shiro finally found his bearings, and the blade retracted with the ease of a bayard. Lance stood on unsteady feet for a few seconds, then they collapsed from under him. His hands were holding onto Shiro’s arms for support, and they were squeezing as hard as he could. Blood oozed out of the front and back of his armor, staining the white a coppery red. But his hands never left Shiro. It was like he thought that, if he held onto him, nothing bad could happen to him. The naive, childlike notion that no harm could befall them so long as their parents were there with them. 

“Lance, how-?” Shiro couldn’t find his words. “How did this-?”

“It’s not your fault.” The boy insisted again, smile looking more and more like a grimace. “Please, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do this.” Someone was crying. _Keith._ Keith was crying. He still had one arm wrapped around a shell shocked Pidge, but his face was contorted in both physical and emotional pain. Shiro realized that he had clear injuries as well. Was it all him? Had he hurt them?

“What did I do?” He asked, voice hushed and horrified. Lance opened his mouth to argue, to try to sway his guilt, but all that came was a cough. And another. His body shook and he leaned into Shiro, as each second it became harder to support his own weight. 

“You were under their control,” Keith croaked, tears glistening in his usually stony eyes. “You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“‘S not your fault,” Lance repeated. Shiro looked between the three present Paladins. Where were the others? Were they safe? Or were they worse off than Keith and Lance?

“We have to do something,” he said, holding Lance up more firmly. “Pidge, can you call Coran?” She stared at him, and he saw an underlying hatred in her eyes, but then it faded. And was replaced with tears. 

“We went through a wormhole to get here,” she said sadly. “He’s too far away to reach.”

“But, the healing pods,” he insisted. “We need to get him into a pod.” She shook her head. 

“Even if I could reach him, the castle’s been compromised. Systems are down.” Shiro’s eyes widened. 

“But, no.” He squeezed Lance’s shoulders, as though trying to make sure he was still there. “We have to try. We have to _help him!”_ Lance coughed again, but it sounded wet and gargled. He pushed himself away from his mentor briefly and hacked until his throat was raw. Shiro went pale when blood sprayed from his lips, showering his front with even more red. 

“Hey, Shiro,” Lance said softly. “It’s fine. Really. You didn’t-“ He coughed again, and his grip tightened on Shiro’s arms. His face contorted in pain, and he swayed forward, head resting on Shiro’s chest. “You didn’t mean to.”

“Lance, hang in there,” the man ordered, forcing his voice not to waver. “We’re gonna get you some help.” His arms wrapped around the boy in more of a hug fashion, which probably wasn’t the best idea considering his injuries, but he had suddenly found that he’d forgotten how to breathe. Lance. Cheery, caring, energetic Lance. He still had no idea what had happened, he just knew that it had brought him out of some enchantment. But at what cost?

“Sh-sh-“ Lance tried to say his name, but he couldn’t get past the first syllable. He shuddered, leaning into the hug. “Shhhiro. It wasn’t- you didn’t _mean_ to.” It was like he was trying to convince himself of the fact as well. “You would never hurt us. Not in your right mind.”

“What mind was I in?” Shiro asked, desperate for some sort of explanation. 

“The witch,” Lance sputtered, anger seeping through the pain. “She was controlling you.” Shiro’s heart dropped. Haggar had been controlling him? What was to guarantee it wouldn’t happen again? Lance nudged him, reading his thoughts through his face. “She’s gone now. You’re just you.”

“But- but look what I’ve done,” Shiro exclaimed. “You’re hurt, Lance. You’re hurt really bad.” Lance squirmed in his arms, trying to get more comfortable despite the gaping hole in his stomach. 

“Then at least some good came of it.” His breaths were shallow, and seemed to be sapping most of his energy. “At least, you’re- back. We’ve got our fearless leader back.” He smiled again. Shiro shook his head. 

“But we can’t lose _you._ ” He held the boy closer, ignoring the blood now dripping down his own armor from the _hole._ “I can’t lose you, Lance. Not like this.” Lance laughed into his shoulder, but the laugh wasn’t the same he was used to. It wasn’t loud and joyful, and occasionally obnoxious. It was weak, and distorted. He sounded like a dying man. 

“It’s okay,” he said, for practically the hundredth time. “There’s- there’s still five Paladins. And besides, I got to see you again. I got to see my family one more time.” Lance’s arms wrapped around him as well, giving a weak squeeze. 

“Lance,” Shiro begged, trying to power him through. But Lance just leaned his head on his shoulder, rubbing his hair against Shiro’s neck. 

“Love ya, Dad.” And suddenly, Shiro was supporting all of his weight. 

“Lance?” No response came. He couldn’t feel the boy’s breaths against his neck anymore. “Lance?!” He pulled him out in front of him, searching his face. His head was bobbing forward, but he didn’t look like he was in any pain. His face was peaceful, with a small smile, and closed eyes. He looked like he was sleeping. “No!”

His own legs gave out from under him, and he fell to his knees, holding Lance back in the hug. Hoping it might reverse what had just happened. Pidge’s sobs pierced the air as she hid her face in Keith’s shoulder, and he watched on, with silent cries of his own. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be _gone._

“Lance, please!” Shiro implored. “Please wake up! Please.” He cried into the boy’s shoulder, holding him close. “I’m sorry. Please don’t die. C’mon buddy, just open your eyes.” No such action came. 

  
  


And when Hunk and Allura finally found them, it was far too late. 


End file.
